In yesterday’s blog post Steve Garley, Tropical Sky’s Commercial Director, introduced us to the wonderful world of local hawker food markets that dot Far Eastern countries like Malaysia. Read on for more about the Malaysian gastronomic experience…

Tepi Laut Makan Street is a modern day hotel hawker market in Borneo’s superb Shangri-La Rasa Ria hotel. All over Malaysia, locals eat their food in roadside or city centre hawker markets, where lots of food outlets surround a communal seating area and you can pick and choose from all the stalls around you.

At Tepi Laut Makan Street this has been recreated in a hotel environment where six different kitchens cook on the spot for you. There is a noodle kitchen, a curry kitchen, a stir fry, a fish and satay restaurant and steamed and stir fried vegetables to choose from. All are expertly manned and stocked by chefs who cook before your eyes.

We tried a selection of Chinese vegetables quickly boiled and then stir fried for three minutes at a very high heat. I chose a garlic sauce and lots of chilli which certainly cleared all my tubes leaving me sweating! Geraldine selected a noodle soup with a variety of meat and fish - all washed down with lots of Tiger beer.

I have never seen this dining concept so expertly organised in a hotel environment, and on Fridays you can even enjoy some traditional music and dancing while you eat. Shangri-La Rasa Ria has certainly pulled out all the stops on this one.